What polls would they be Rafe? Web site polls, perhaps, where people with a bee in their bonnet and a lot of time on their hands, say, people like you, can vote as many times as they like?

2. Can you imagine Howard receiving a standing ovation? He would be embarrassed as hell and I am sure would have stopped it.

And from the polls that I have seen the public has seen it that way as well despite the best efforts of the media.

Simon - I hardly forfeited an opportunity to get my point across. I did so both at the summit and to journalists later, and should do so in more detail on the community corps in The Australian’s higher ed supplement tomorrow.

you say that not going to 2020 would have had you and others accused of sour grapes. Well, so what? It’s opportunities like that, when one is the uncomprehended minority, that is the best opportunity to get a point across. Yes, one will be misinterpreted - but you were, after all, quoting Orwell, who was pretty systematically misinterpreted for most of his life. The same reasons you give for going to the conference sound might similar to the reasons many gave for, eg, not being candid about Spain…’the right will use it’, ‘it’ll demoralise the left’ etc etc. To quote Orwell and then end up in the great Room of the People as dear emperor is applauded, and then criticise all those other intellectuals, suggests a lack of self-awareness, I would suggest.
We don’t get many tests. You failed this one.

You know, to be honest, I’d much rather have a Prime Minister who attempts to connect with the ‘intellectual elites’ than the ‘intellectual human waste products’ like Alan Jones.

Like it or not, Rudd managed to do something Howard would never have imagined attempting: bringing in people with skills in their field, despite a wide range of political views, and have them discuss the future without injuring each other. Now that’s consensus politics.

Makes a vast change from the last government, who will be most remembered for confrontation, dog whistles and wedge politics.

I view the Australia 2020 Summit in the same way, so far.

Learning that an idea came into the report of the Productivity stream without it being raised, discussed or debated, indicates external control or influence over the outcomes without the 100 selected people being involved at all. I hope we hear from more participants, who are not simply Labor supporters, of their Summit experiences.

It seems so far that the Summit was carefully structured to support Labor views, and to give the impression to the rest of us there is broad support for Labor policies, as if they’ve got it right.

A a parent, and someone who believes in freedom and other democratic values, no national curriculum will be satisfactory. What is learnt in Schools freely chosen by families is best left to Schools and communities, but even more importantly between life experienced apolitical Staff / Teachers and Students and their parents. Independent, self-directed, self-assessed learning based on personal interests is best of all, for those who understand and choose it. Rather than having their lives messed up by the State, young people take responsibility for preparing for their lives as effective adults in and with support of their chosen learning community. Extrinsic curricula is not necessary in this approach to learning.